Wednesday, May 11, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisters Country birds
City snapshot
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
• Two parks-related items
will come before Sisters
City Council for adoption at
their May 12, 7 p.m. meet-
ing. The City Parks Master
Plan, adopted in 2011, has
been updated by staff and
the Parks Advisory Board.
The other issue has to do
with the revision to the
parks system development
charges (SDCs), which will
increase if approved. SDCs
are monies paid by build-
ers when they construct new
residential properties to cover
the expense to the City for
improvements and expansion
to city water, sewer, and parks
systems necessitated by the
additional residences.
• The East Portal (at the
west end of town) is now
open for the season, including
the restrooms. To help elimi-
nate unauthorized dumping
of large items such as old
rolls of carpet, the dump-
ster is being replaced with
two roll-carts to provide for
minor garbage disposal by
visitors. In case you’ve ever
wondered why it is referred
to as the East Portal, it is
the eastern entrance and ter-
minus for Highway 242, the
old McKenzie Pass Scenic
Byway.
• If you haven’t seen all
the improvements made at
the Creekside Campground
b y t h e P u b l i c Wo r k s
Department, go by and take
a look. The new berm cov-
ered with large spruce trees
very effectively acts as a
screen between the camp-
ground and the neighborhood.
More spruce trees have been
planted inside the fence along
Tyee. Several campsites near
Tyee have been shortened
to no longer accommodate
Class A RVs, thus reducing
their impact on neighbor-
ing properties. A new fully
accessible ADA campsite is
located near the restroom,
with a paved pad and path to
accommodate wheelchairs.
The new entrance/exit on
Locust is well-marked with
a handcrafted wood and iron
sign, plus various new signs
directing traffic to the camp-
ground have been installed on
Highway 20 and local surface
streets.
Several campsites near
Tyee have been shortened to
no longer accommodate
Class A RVs.
• If the City is awarded
a grant it has just applied
for, a new play structure
will be erected at Village
Green Park. It will be twice
the size of the current struc-
ture, without removing any
trees. It will be totally ADA-
compliant and the surface
under the equipment is soft,
drains easily, requires no
maintenance, and can accom-
modate wheelchairs. The area
surrounding the current play
structure is in need of repair,
and the structure itself is not
ADA-compliant and has no
swings.
• The City is still seek-
ing one more member for the
Budget Committee to review
the proposed 2016-17 bud-
get which takes effect July 1.
Residency inside city limits is
required. Meetings will take
place the evenings of May
18, 19, and possibly 20 if
needed. Application forms are
available from City Recorder
Kathy Nelson, 541-323-5213.
• The grant proposal sub-
mitted to the State for funds
to help construct a new public
restroom facility at Creekside
Campground, which will be
larger and ADA-compliant,
will be heard June 2 and 3 in
Salem. City staff will be mak-
ing the presentation, and they
welcome any local support-
ers who would like to go to
Salem to show their support.
For more information contact
Community Development
Director Patrick Davenport at
pdavenport@ci.sisters.or.us
or 541-323-5219.
• The wood shake roof on
the barbecue structure located
at Village Green Park is slated
for replacement by a metal
roof, which will make it more
fire-resistant.
• The order has been placed
for the permanent restroom to
be installed at Cliff Clemens
Park. It should arrive by mid-
August. Up until last year,
there were no public facili-
ties available at the park until
parents of children who play
at the park requested the City
provide something. A por-
table toilet was placed in the
southeast corner of the park
as a temporary solution. The
new restroom building will
resemble the one located in
Fir Street Park, although the
color scheme will be gray and
green with a slate-gray roof to
blend in with the surrounding
neighborhood.
By Douglas Beall
Correspondent
Ye l l o w
warblers
(Dendroica petechia) spend
their winter in the Central
Americas and are now
migrating the 2,000 to 4,000
miles to breed in shrubby
streamside areas around
Sisters.
The migration route is
very treacherous, as the
yellow warbler flies over
the Gulf of Mexico from
Yucatan to Texas and
Louisiana.
Soon after arrival on
their breeding grounds the
males begin to select their
territories and defend them,
singing their bright songs
from perches around the
nesting area. The female
builds a nest made of
grasses with plant fibers
woven throughout in 4-5
days and lays 4-6 greenish-
to spotted-white eggs,
which hatch in 10-13 days.
The fledglings are fed a
diet of mostly caterpillars,
beetles, and wasps, and
leave the nest in 10-13 days.
The cowbird is the
yellow warbler’s enemy; by
laying its egg in the warbler
nest, the larger fledgling
crowds the smaller out and
dominates the feedings, and
the warbler chicks die of
starvation.
A
group
of
warblers is called a
“bouquet,” “wrench,” or
a “confusion.” For more
yellow warbler images visit
http://abirdsingsbecauseit
hasasong.com/recent-
journeys
photo by douglas beall
Yellow warbler.
INVEST IN GOOD THINGS
VOTEfor911.org
EMERGENCY
POLICE
FIRE
MEDICAL
CALL
911
Please vote
YES on
Measure
9-107
Paid for by Citizens for 911 Stable Funding
O
ee
Fr
n
e
ut
Gl
7
ns
i o
p t
Rustic & Quaint
Nestled beneath t the
h e v vast
ast
ponderosa pines of Camp Sherman
✓ VOTE
Y
E
S
ON SCH
OOL
BOND!
N
SEND YOUR
BALLOT IN TODAY!
Call 541-595-6420 for Reservations
www.kokaneecafe.com
Ad sponsored and paid for by Competing for Tomorrow PAC